Choreolab 08: Vesna Orlic - Brenda Sahel - Dan Dactu - Karina Sarkissova - Samuel Colombert

This was my fourth choreolab in Vienna. Except it wasn't in Vienna. For some reason, the Vienna Ballet Club moved their marquee event to St Polten. Now St Polten is fine but it's over an hour from Vienna. I missed the Friday night premiere so I can't tell what attendance was like for that night, but on Sunday the crowd was very, very ballet, apart from the Hungarian ambassador to Austria and a few other political luminaries.

Una Zubovic - Lisa Cano in Vesna Orlic's Parfum

Nothing against St Polten, but please bring choreolab back to Vienna, to the Odeon or Museumsquartier and to a wider public. choreolab should not be a private event for the Staatsoper inner circle and dancers.

The evening was very short running just over an hour with six choreographies. Gone were the past years of incredible forty five minute works from Vanessa Tamburi or Patricia Sollak. We were treated with only miniatures in this year's choreolab.

What has happened at the Staatsoper is that a generation change has taken place. Nearly all of the senior generation that had grown up under the old system are gone. As well as Mlles Tamburi and Sollak, Niki Adler has also left the Staatsoper. There are apparently no real replacements for these dancers, eager to put on their own choreographic works. Fallow periods happen in theatres.

In the Bolshoi Theater after the period of Vladimir Vasilyev, Ekaterina Maximova and Maya Plissetskaya, while there were great performers after them there were no real replacement personalities for years - striving to put on their own ballets.

On top of their youth, apparently the dancers are worn out this year. The corps-de-ballet is dancing much better, but it's due to overwork. Vienna State Opera Ballet Director Gyula Harangozá leaves the company little energy for any extra-curricular activities, including going out dancing with friends on the weekend. So there was less enthusiasm as usual from both potential choreographers or dancers. In past years, Choreolab was where young dancers went to showcase their wares in hopes of snagging more solo roles next season.

Two choreographers from past choreolabs were on the program, Serbian dancer Vesna Orlic and Russian choreographer Karina Sarkissova.

Vesna Orlic's piece Parfum had excellent music, from the Gotan project. Four female dancer begin with langorous movements. Eventually men come to accompany them. It all ends in a gorgeous vertical wreath of bodies.

8096 Vesna Orlic Parfum Choreolab 2008

Richly colourful costumes in purple and orange and a bit of drawn on tattoo gave a slightly Aztec or Indian feel to Parfum. Definitely somewhere around mythology. While Parfum did not have the emotional resonance of Vesna Orlic's last choreolab Tango, the colours and music and dancing gave the audience pleasure.

8098 Vesna Orlic Parfum

8100 Vesna Orlic Parfum

8102 Alexej Khludov Lisa Cano

A dramatic end to Parfum - sad people lie down to die.
We will see this again tonight.

Uber das Leben (About Life) is the first work of Dutch choreographer Brenda Saleh. It was a short piece about loneliness, finding an other and then having to share him. The best part of About Life was the music. Ms. Saleh didn't have to go far to get it, as the music was the creation of her partner Christian Mann. He both wrote and played a very moving piano concerto. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to prepare for live performance so we heard a recorded version on the weekend.

8124 Brenda Saleh uber das leben Iliana Chivarova

8127 Brenda Saleh uber das leben Jaimy van Overeem

The dancing was again good, Ilianna Chivarova put in a beautiful performance as the third in white, in contrast to the black clad Ms. Saleh. I felt Ms. Saleh did not seem able to emote adequately to the grand theme - life - she wished to cover. Her loneliness did not move me as much as it could have.

In the end, music apart, the short About Life felt pretty but inconsequential.

Karinna Sarkissova's was the veteran choreographer and star among the Choreolab choreographers of this year. A soloist in the Staatsoper, Ms. Sarkissova is relatively tall. With her long blonde hair, bright eyes, she cuts a striking figure in her black dress.

8138 Karina Sarkissova This Moment

8139 Alena Klochkova

Happily enough Ms. Sarkissova's choreographic abilities have improved. If it weren't for the self-indulgent soundtrack, the movement would have been quite touching. Both Alena Klochkova and Andrej Teterin took full advantage of the opportunities Ms. Sarkissova afforded them against a simple blue backdrop.

8143 Karina Sarkissova This Moment

8147 Alena Klochkova Andrej Teterin

8148 Andrej Teterin Alenda Klochkova

8151 Karina Sarkissova This Moment

At this point, my hopes were low with two more unknown choreographers and another Sarkissova piece on the program. Then Dan Datcu (Rumania) and Rebecca Horner (Austria) surprised in his touching and eloquent miniature Given, But One Wing.

8156 Dan Dactu Given but One Wing Rebecca Horner

Given, But One Wing again treated the issue of loneliness. In this case man meets woman and they bind. Mr. Datcu ceaselessly invented lifts and rolls and high kicks to express both the delight and the frustration of love.

8161 Dan Dactu Given but One Wing Rebecca Horner

8167 Dan Dactu Given but One Wing Rebecca Horner

8180 Dan Dactu Given but One Wing Rebecca Horner

8181 Dan Dactu Given but One Wing Rebecca Horner

8189 Dan Dactu Given but One Wing Rebecca Horner

Sadly at the end the couple falls apart and Ms. Horner is left alone on the stage. There was a little bit too much emotional content in the seven minutes. This duet could easily run twenty minutes with slower emotional development.

Both Dan Datcu and Rebecca Horner were totally inside their characters and translucent emotionally. Of the evening, Given But One Wing, was the short but potent hint of what wonderful dance can be. After this first piece, I look forward to seeing more of Mr. Datcu's work.

Karina Sarkissova's second piece Beichte (Confession) is a solo set to the music of Russiann singer Nikolai Noskov. Confession is an emotional ballad of the kind which only the Russians can manage credibly. So at least Ms. Sarkissova had the music at her back.

8138 Karina Sarkissova This Moment

8139 Alena Klochkova

8206 Karina Sarkissova Beichte Denys Chervynko lies on the ground

8210 Karina Sarkissova Beichte Denys Chervynko flies through the air jpg

Denys Cherevychko takes Ms. Sarkissova's ball and runs with it. He leaps, turns in the air, throws himself on the floor and crucifies himself on point several times for the audience. Very flashy dancing - I'm not sure yet whether it was moving or just excessive but Confession certainly did not pass unnoticed.

8211 Karina Sarkissova Beichte Denys Chervynko writhes jpg

8214 Karina Sarkissova Beichte Denys Chervynko crucified jpg

8218 Karinia Sarkissova herself

Perhaps Ms. Sarkissova could choreography to such emotionally excessive music if she requires melodrama to inspire her and switch the music in the last week of rehearsal to something more thoughtful and less indulgent.

Samuel Colombert's piece was the longest, including variations from four women. The structure of the piece deeply classical with a conventional dance vocabulary. The music (collage?) was fine, the choreography correct but dull. Happily with four beautiful dancers deeply engaged in their work, it was not difficult to just relax and enjoy the moment.

8224 Lieder für Vier Frauen Lisa Cano

Lisa Cano and Iliana Chivarova were particularly focused and absorbing. Erika Kovácova's dancing was large and physical. Rui Tamai was correct but a bit cold.

8237 Lieder für Vier Frauen Rui Tamai

The small line of coloured cloths across the back of the stage and the varied red gowns were tasteful and appropriate to the piece.

8245 Lieder für Vier Frauen Erika Kovacova

8254 Lieder für Vier Frauen Erika Kovacova

8259 Lieder für Vier Frauen Erica Kovacova

8266 Lisa Cano Iliana Chivarova Rui Tamai

8270 Lisa Cano Iliana Chivarova Rui Tamai

8272 Iliana Chivarova Lisa Cano Rui Tamai

8281 Iliana Chivarova

8286 Iliana Chivarova Erika Kovacova

8292 Samuel Colombert Song for Four Women

And after one hour that was the end.

Much applause but not much of substance to hold onto apart from Dan Datcu's Given But One Wing. But it is so difficult to put on independent dance with full members of a classical company, it is wonderful that Choreolab 2008 took place. Full congratulations and thanks to Ballett Club Wien president Ingeborg Tichy-Luger and Ballett Club supporters.

The hope and the dream of great new works stays alive. Some of the new members may be inspired to prepare their own pieces.

Whether, Choreolab can continue as it is without honorariums and attract the top talents is an open question. At least one professional level choreographer from the Choreolab alumni didn't participate this year, as he "can't afford to create for nothing".

I know the feeling.

For even more pictures of Choreolab 08 St Pölten - Wien. Anyone who would like prints of these pictures can order them online there.

Comments

[Brenda Saleh]

"It was a short piece about loneliness, finding an other and then having to share him."

If you didn't see that in the piece, I take it as a compliment because it wasn't ment to be like that. I am sorry that you didn't read the programm-book, or didn't understand. My choreography was about:
(translated from german)

"going thru different faces in life, in wich we almost loose faith and hope. We don't see the beauty in life anymore and get trapped in a imaginary dark circle. It's important to know that life at anytime can take a possitive change."

There was no such thing as "having to share him".

" I felt Ms. Saleh did not seem able to emote adequately to the grand theme - life - she wished to cover. Her loneliness did not move me as much as it could have."

The duration of the pieces were limited this year, we were told that it could be around 10 minutes, I used 9 and a half of them. I agree that a theme as LIFE is almost impossible to capture in this small amound of time. I think even a full-lenght-ballet could not capture it because it is so complicated. That's why I based it on MY life, a period of 3 months. Maybe the title: "About a small part of my personal life" would have been better? I don't think so, that's why I chose the title "About life". Some people can identify better with my story then others, because we don't all go tru the same things in life (thank God!).
If you were not moved by it, it's a good sign for you I guess, because it means that you have no identification with what my piece is telling you. I knew it would be impossible to move everyone, or many, but if only one person in the audience was (and there were some) then I am satisfied.

I thank you very much for your nice photo's and your review, it's always good to have feedback and to learn from for the future.

Greetings!
Brenda Saleh

[Alec]

Hello Brenda,

Thanks very much for stopping by. I didn't know you were limited this year in length. I agree with you ten minutes isn't a long time to develop a substantial piece. I'd been told that length had been a choreographer's choice.

In terms of title, rather than talking about life, you should name it "Three Months" or "Break to Light". The grandiloquent title gets you into deep water.

Thanks for clarifying about the theme. This year, as Choreolab was in St Pölten, I could only see the pieces once and photograph them at the same time. Normally I try to come twice. It's possible to see something else or more in two viewings, the first without camera. Good luck with your future work - hopefully the next Choreolab will allow longer pieces and one of them will be yours.

Cordial regards, Alec